My 9 year old daughter is going to be performing in the Nutcracker, and they are going to make the girls wear these sheer white leotards with nothing underneath. You can see right through it. When my daughter wears it, she looks like she's in the nude. You can especially see her butt. Should I be concerned about this? What should I do?

Hi Candice, by nothing do you mean no tights either? Maybe they would let the children wear nude color trunks underneath? If it bothers you I would have a quiet word with the director or teacher. Perhaps they didn't know these leotards were so sheer? White is a hard one for the stage for just this reason.

Are these possibly just undergarments for another costume, or is this the costume itself? Often, students and dancers will wear something of this nature under a production costume to protect the dancers and to protect the costumes.

If you are responsible for the costume, you may like to have it lined with a skin-tone material, or get your daughter a body-stocking to wear underneath.

If they insist that no body-stocking is worn because the straps show, you can pin (or tac) the body stocking to the leotard just under the straps of the leotard, then remove or tuck in the straps of the body stocking so that they don't show.

These are tricks some girls I know have used to deal with see-through leoterds.

Are you absolutely sure that this leotard is the costume, or are the girls given this leotard as an undergarmet that they're responsible for. The company I danced with would provide us each with a nude camisole leotard to be worn under all of our costuming.

I can't believe that a sheer white leotard with no tights is a costume. Is she an angel in the Nutcracker by any chance? Maybe they're putting some gauzy white outer garmet over the leotard.

If the leotard itself is the only costume (which seems unlikely), see if you can get another leotard, and have your daughter wear two. Maybe it'll help cover her up a bit more.

The costume people will realize thier mistake at dress rehearsal when all the girls look naked on stage.

I agree with everything Lampwick said. This leotard must be an undergarment for the real costume. It can be hard keeping costumes clean with a few casts going at once. If not as Lampwick says they will see their mistake as soon as they go under the lights.

I want someone to answer me this. There was another discussion thread in this forum about nude dancing, and not one single person said that they didn't believe it existed. Not one single person said, "That can't possibly be true. They must be wearing something". However, if you mention someone dancing in a sheer white leotard, people refuse to believe it. Why would you believe that someone would dance in the nude, but refuse to believe that someone would dance in a sheer white leotard? Is dancing nude more believable than dancing in a sheer white leotard?

Candice... it's a matter of age here. Nude (or otherwise revealing) dancing is a choice to be made by adults --- that is, professional dancers. Your daughter is 9 years old. She should not be asked to dance nude or in a sheer white leotard. I would certainly not allow my 9-year-old daughter to do that, I would pull her from the production first.

You didn't answer Lucy's question. What role is your daughter dancing? Angel? Reindeer? Party child?

An avant garde dance performance is one thing, the Nutcracker is another. Nutcracker is a "family" ballet. From an artistic standpoint, nude dancing looks very intentional and usually carries some significance. A sheer white leotard with no tights on a nine year old (in the Nutcracker!), would look like someone forgot to make the costumes.

Have you spoken with the Artistic Director? Did you express your concerns that your daughter would appear "revealed" onstage? What was thier response? Have you spoken with the other parents? I'm sure that they wouldn't allow thier daughters to dance revealed either. If this is, in fact, the actual costume, has there been any discussion amongst the other parents about it?

I'm sorry, but I danced in many performances of the Nutcracker over the years in many different roles, and never remember being asked to appear almost nude. My Arabian costume was kind of sexy, but I was an older teenager, and the costume was appropriate to the role. It didn't look like a "mistake".

If the AD and costume department is asking the girls to all appear in a sheer leotard (without tights?), then you should all pull out. Or volunteer to make some costumes. Or make the girls wear something underneath. Like citibob said, no dancer should be revealed on stage like that. It's like some kind of not-dressed-for-school nightmare.

I'm still pretty sure that they meant that the girls should wear nothing underneath this garment because it's only meant to protect the costume. They may be supplying tights so the colors are all uniform. Our company did this for Nutcracker once they saw what it looked like to have everyone in different shades of pink.

Maybe you've only done recitals where the students have to buy costumes? Professional companies have thier own costumes which are supplied to the performers at performance time. They will be fit for these several weeks, or month, before the performance.

Candice, this is not that we don't believe that those guidelines were actually given to you... What we imply in all our messages is 'disbelief' or amazement that they actually allow 9 years old kids to be dressed this way! As others stated, the usual choreography/costumes of the Nutcracker would not require anyone to appear in the nude/similar appearance. So, there must be some kind of explanation or rationale for this guideline to have been issued... It simply cannot have been overlooked!! If it was a mistake and they hadn't realised at the time how transparent the 'costumes' would be, then someone needs to point it out to them. Also, are they using special effects (smoke/props?) to somehow hide the children? If not, then you must voice your concern about this. It may have been nothing more than a big misunderstanding....

It's part of the snowflake sequence, and some of the girls have elaborate snowflake costume, but they said some of the girls would wear these "minimalist" costumes. So you would have these main snowflakes but then you would have these girls in the background wearing just the white leotards, maybe representing snow flurries in the background. I mentioned how the leotards were sheer, and they said the audience would be far enough away, they wouldn't be able to "see anything". Other parents said they didn't think the leotards were that sheer but they look sheer to me. When I see the girls wearing just the leotards, in all honasty to me they look like they are all in the nude.

If it's a concern to you, then I think the school should take that seriously. Clearly they think it's OK. But if you as a parent are uncomfortable with the whole situation, then you need to press your concern with the school until you are somehow satisfied.

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